Our Company Featured in Media

“Manufacturers of such novel alternatives, who had few takers before, have suddenly acquired importance and what they earlier pushed as alternatives have become the mainstream option for users."We've been around for a long time and then suddenly the demand has doubled," says Samanvi Bhograj, founder of Earthware, Bengaluru-based manufacturer of eco-friendly packaging material and containers.”

“The few established manufacturers, however, are not fully prepared to meet the incremental demand for alternatives."No company can handle it immediately .We are trying to service what we can and are expanding in the next few months," Bhograj, who runs a facility in Jalahalli.”

“If you really care, there are many alternatives to plastic, say experts.”

BENGALURU: "When I was a child, my
mother would send me to a grocery shop with two things, money and a
cloth bag. I think we are finally going down the same road," said
85-year-old Joseph Matthew who is hoping the heap of plastic waste in
front of his house in Austin Town will disappear some day. Ten days
after Bengaluru banned plastic, much hasn't changed on the ground but,
thankfully, mindsets are gradually changing. Though most of the malls
have succeeded in switching to paper and cloth bags, restaurants,
supermarkets and small vendors are still struggling to ditch the age old
habit.

"Plastic is easily available and a matter of convenience,
something we are so used to. It's true that alternatives are available
but not everybody knows about these natural products," said Samanvi
Bhograj, a social entrepreneur who deals with biodegradable and
compostable products."Plastic
plates, cups and spoons can be replaced by areca products. However,
areca cannot hold liquid for too long and becomes soggy. One cannot make
big bowls out of them because of their limited moulding capacity.
Another option is bagasse which can retain liquid items for a longer
period."

For poultry items, it's best to revert to good-old methods of wrapping fish and meat in banana leaves and then in paper."I
don't see why it's a problem, because we are not storing the meat. We
are just taking it from the shop to our house. There's no way it could
get spoilt," said Samanvi, adding that prices of earthenware products
have come down in the last two years.

HSR Layout, Sanjaynagar,
Yelahanka and Vidyaranyapuram, areas which saw residents vociferously
pushing for a plastic ban, have shopkeepers already selling meat in
leaves. In fact, the shops are advising regular customers to carry their
own containers.

For trekking groups in India,
limited use of water and the disposal of human waste have always been
problems. You dig a hole and squat. But when the ground is hard, deep
holes are hard to dig. The army’s `thunderbox’ solution was also tried
but who was to empty the box? So, individual bags that would be dumped
into a compost pit were the next option.

Samanvi recalls the start point for Earthware, saying, “We
weren’t looking at it as a business: it was more of social
responsibility thing for us. The business has emerged now.” First time
users are amazed that this is plastic-looking product is not only
non-plastic but actually composts!

The big challenge for all such eco-friendly goods is the same:
cost. Manufacture of plastic, with its huge capacities and volumes,
is a cheaper alternative, thus hard to displace. Anyway, no one’s
looking to do away with its use altogether. For now, cornstarch-based
products do not command the volumes, hence cost of production is high,
Samanvi pointed out.

Earthware expects to overcome the challenge of depending solely
on bulk orders (for cost viability) by opening a retail store in
Bangalore, where you walk in to buy the material you need in the
quantity you need.

The other way they will meet this challenge is by widening
their product range. So, they plan to launch biodegradable toys in the
near future. Catch ‘em young, indeed! This will help them achieve their
aim of increasing awareness on the need to use things which are
environmentally friendly by biodegrading.

Women entrepreneurs are a rare lot. But those that exist
make a great deal of a difference. In this post, Gouri Athale writes
about Samanvi Bhograj, a co-founder of Earthware. It’s a company that
manufactures bio-degradable bags, which Indiahikes swears by.

“That was one use we had never imagined for our product!”
Samanvi Bhograj exclaims with a laugh. She is referring to
bio-degradable bags developed as bin liners for urban homes being used
by trekkers for their early morning dump. Earthware, a Bangalore-based company set up by Samanvi and friend, makes these bio-degradable bags.

In the past, the Army is believed to have used helicopters to
airlift soldiers’ waste from the heights of Siachen. That was one way to
handle the issue but doesn’t Samanvi’s bio-degradable bags sound a
better, more cost effective way to do the same? Do it in the bag and
compost it there! Bloggers and green trekkers have
been writing about human excreta management in the more inaccessible
reaches of our country, a logistics ordeal in its own right specially
when the ground is hard with snow and rock, so deep holes are hard to
dig.

Samanvi spoke about how the venture began, saying, “Our idea
was to encourage people living in urban areas to switch over from
plastic for household garbage.” The bio-degradable bags were developed
for an urban setting where it is mandatory to separate garbage in
the home and not use plastic bags for its disposal. Earthware makes its
bags out of imported cornstarch so that the bag composts as it degrades
with its household waste.

International norms for bags made from polylactic acid (PLA)
from cornstarch are expected to compost within 12 weeks and fully
bio-degrade in six months.

Earthware

Earthware is a brand solely owned by Visfortec Pvt ltd and promoted by Samanvi Bhograj, a social entrepreneur with keen interest in the environment and sustainable energies.

Ecofriendly Products

With the rise in plastic pollution along side the drastic effects they leave on the earth,plant based products
are a perfect replacement to these deadly plastics.These products can
be used as biodegradable food packaging as they are environment
friendly. These eco friendly food containers, plates, bowls etc
are user friendly and provide a solution specially for
companies that are look for food take away containers that are
green, or biodegradable.

Visfortec Pvt Ltd

Visfortec Pvt ltd, conceptalized in 2011 from the founder of Vishnu Forge (estd 1963).
Our motto is to provide one stop solution for Ecofriendly/Biodegradable products.
Earthware Products, a brand catering to the food industry
is widely recognised and awarded for its innovative products.
Look into the media and news section for our coverage in various articles.

Visfortec Pvt Ltd mainly employs women from rural areas to contribute and support the concept of Make in India and also women empowerement.
We strongly believe in creating a bond of business with societal values.

Biodegradable

Ecofriendly

Elegant

General FAQ on Ecofriendly Products

These non plastic food containers not only help nature but are also healthy to eat out of.

What is a bagasse product?

These products are made from fibre,namely Sugar cane, Wheat, Bamboo, Cellulose etc which is a natural by-products.

Do bagasse products compost?

Yes Bagasse products are made from natural plant fibre. Threrfore they inherintly have the property to compost.

Are they Eco friendly?

Yes there are green products. They are 100% biodegradable and compostable.

Is the raw material renewable?

Bagasse is the material left over after juice is extracted from sugarcane,this is most often discarded or burnt to use as fuel.